QSpace Community:http://hdl.handle.net/1974/7722015-08-03T00:48:14Z2015-08-03T00:48:14ZEssays on Networks and MacroeconomicsKivinen, Stevenhttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/134072015-07-20T08:02:59Z2015-07-17T04:00:00ZTitle: Essays on Networks and Macroeconomics
Authors: Kivinen, Steven
Abstract: This thesis consists of three essays related by the themes of networks and macroeconomics. The first essay examines the role of networks in workers’ search for employment. Unemployed workers gain employment by sending resumes directly to employers, and indirectly through employed friends. I find that the amount of search effort a worker undertakes is related to how many employed friends it has, and whether networks are substitutes or complements in search. When search costs are linear I find that complementary networks cause those with the most friends to search, while substitutable networks cause search effort to be independent of an individual’s network position. Finally, I examine the role of aggregate links on aggregate matching.
The second essay examines the impact of networks on aggregate labour market variables, such as unemployment and unfilled vacancies. It is concluded that networks lead to wage heterogeneity, increased unemployment volatility, and higher autocorrelation of vacancy rates. The conclusions follow analytically using an approximation method, and quantitative magnitudes are discussed using numerical simulations. Finally, issues of network formation and multiple equilibria are addressed.
The final essay analyzes the role of imitation on firm pricing decisions. A generalization of Calvo pricing is developed. It is shown that price dynamics are much different in a model with imitation. I demonstrate analytically that sticky inflation can arise. I partially characterize equilibrium prices and inflation. I finish the chapter by generalizing the network effects.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2015-07-13 17:40:12.8092015-07-17T04:00:00ZThe Econometrics and Economics of EducationPenney, Jeffreyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/133932015-07-09T05:18:11Z2015-07-07T04:00:00ZTitle: The Econometrics and Economics of Education
Authors: Penney, Jeffrey
Abstract: This thesis contains three essays spanning the fields of econometrics and the economics of education. The first is a methodological essay wherein I propose a solution to the test score measurement problem. Test scores that measure the same skill or trait are often scaled differently. I propose a statistical methodology to express test scores in a standard format to make them comparable across different tests. While other methods to standardize scores exist, the method I develop avoids several statistical pitfalls that commonly befall other procedures. The second chapter is an applied paper examining the question of whether academic achievement increases when students are the same race as their teacher. I pay particular attention to the effects of same-race teachers on academic achievement in both the short and medium run. Using a model that takes into account past school inputs, I find positive effects of racial matching on student achievement; moreover, these benefits persist with time. The third is a methodological piece that develops a technique to answer the question of whether one can be confident that a statistical estimate of something such as a mean or a regression parameter estimate lies between two points. The procedure has desirable statistical properties, and is ideally suited for use when testing for the existence of zero or near-zero effects.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2015-07-06 17:52:10.2062015-07-07T04:00:00ZThree Essays on Earnings DynamicsShang, Yinghttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/130022015-04-27T13:21:01Z2015-04-27T04:00:00ZTitle: Three Essays on Earnings Dynamics
Authors: Shang, Ying
Abstract: This thesis consists of three essays that use modern econometric methods to empirically study earnings dynamics in the United States using samples drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).
In Chapter 2, I study a non-linear parametric model that allows an agent's future earning to depend on the earning quantile he occupies in the current period. Such dynamics reflect a different set of opportunities opened up to an agent once he changes position in the earning distribution. Chapter 3 extends the model presented in Chapter 2 to take into account the accumulation of agents' past experiences by allowing an agent's earning process to depend on both his current quantile position and the average of his previous quantiles. The current quantile position represents an agent's current opportunity or luck whereas the average of his previous quantiles assumes the role of his past experiences.
I estimate the models using a method of indirect inference called simulated minimum distance. I find that the underlying process differs across the earning distribution. In particular, individuals in the bottom quantile have a unit root process whereas individuals in upper quantiles have a stationary process with the top quantile workers having the lowest autoregressive coefficients.
Chapter 3 shows that a model specification with a higher weight assigned to luck, the current quantile position, has better predictions for the earning mobility presented from the data. This result implies that luck certainly plays a role in the earning process.
In Chapter 4, I study the earning mobility of US households using nonparametric quantile regressions. I estimate future earning quantiles for individuals from every initial earning level. I find that earning mobility tends to improve in more recent years or over a longer time span. Moreover, the substantial non-linearity found in upper earning distribution suggests that relatively higher earners face more earning uncertainty than others. In addition, the slopes of quantiles as a function of initial earnings are flatter in the long run. Therefore, more than half of high earners experience an earning decline whereas the majority of low earners experience an earning increase in the long run.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2015-04-26 11:33:27.0122015-04-27T04:00:00ZLiquidity in the Housing Market: Credit Standards, Volatility Clustering and Asymmetric Price AdjustmentZhou, Chengganghttp://hdl.handle.net/1974/127472015-02-17T18:38:13Z2015-02-17T05:00:00ZTitle: Liquidity in the Housing Market: Credit Standards, Volatility Clustering and Asymmetric Price Adjustment
Authors: Zhou, Chenggang
Abstract: This dissertation studies various economic issues related to the housing market. First, I investigate how trading frictions in a housing market affect lenders' decisions. In Chapter 2, by employing a dynamic house search model with long-term mortgage debt, I find that a more liquid housing market reduces not only the possibility of a borrower to default but also the lender's cost upon default. These benefits induce lenders to require lower credit requirements and issue larger loans.
Second, Chapter 3 is an empirical study of volatility clustering (ARCH/GARCH effects) in home price of Canadian cities. I find that most Canadian major cities exhibit ARCH/GARCH effects in house price return and several cities also show TGARCH effects, i.e. price volatility is asymmetric in response to positive and negative shocks. Furthermore, I analyze the determinants of house price volatility and document asymmetric price adjustment in Canada.
Finally, in Chapter 4, I develop a static house search model with indebted sellers to study the asymmetric adjustment of house prices. The analysis shows that positive changes of the average house price are larger and more likely to reflect the underlying shocks than negative changes due to the equity effect, i.e. sellers with less house equity tend to post higher asking prices. This result is consistent with empirical findings that the house price exhibits downward rigidity.
Description: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2015-02-13 17:36:52.8982015-02-17T05:00:00Z